Capillary electrophoresis devices generally provide certain major components that include, for example, a capillary array, a separation medium source for providing medium to the capillaries (e.g., a polymer), a sample injection mechanism, an optical detector component, an electrode, and anode buffer source on one end of the capillaries, and a cathode buffer source on the other end of the capillaries. Capillary electrophoresis devices generally also provide various heating components and zones to regulate the temperature of many of the aforementioned components. Regulating the temperature of many of these components can improve quality of results.
To provide the major components of a capillary electrophoresis device while regulating the temperature of many of these components, current capillary electrophoresis devices use multiple structures to house these components and connect or couple these structures together to provide a working capillary electrophoresis device. Using multiple structures has disadvantages. For example, each of the interconnected structures may require its own temperature regulating mechanisms, thus creating independent temperature control zones. Each of these zones would then require associated individual control mechanisms. This multi-structure design increases the overall number of components in the apparatus, complicates the temperature control scheme, and increases the chances of component failure due to the sheer number of components involved. FIG. 1 shows one such design, illustrating multiple temperature control zones TCM0 to TCM5.
The use of multiple interconnected structures is also not user-friendly. For example, attaching the separation medium (hereinafter referred to as “polymer”) source to the capillary array can be complicated and runs the risk of introducing bubbles or other artifacts each time the array is detached and attached to the polymer source. Moreover, the user, rather than the manufacturer, generally must attach the buffer source to the array, and must do it multiple times through the life of the capillary array.
It is therefore desirable to provide a capillary electrophoresis apparatus with a reduced number of interconnected structures to reduce the number of necessary heating zones, reduce user handling of the structures, reduce likelihood of component failure, and reduce introduction of bubbles and other artifacts into the apparatus.